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2024 Xia County Travel Guide: Must-see attractions, popular food, hotels, transportation routes (updated in December)
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Travel guide to Yaotai Mountain in Xia County, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province.
[Love] The mountains and rivers here are beautiful, the air is fresh, and there are different scenery waiting for you to explore. Yaotai Mountain, also known as Wuxian Mountain, is located on the bank of Baisha River 2 kilometers east of Xia County. The peak was originally built with "Taixu Temple", "Wenfeng Tower" and "Wangyue Platform". According to legend, King Xia Jie and his beloved concubine Meixi would come there every Mid-Autumn Festival. Enjoy the full moon with this view.
[Love] Ticket: 20 yuan (free with Yuncheng Tourism Annual Card).
[Love] Parking: Free.
[Love] Yaotai means Qiong Palace Yaotai. The ancients believed that good wishes can reach heaven from here.
[Love] During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were many temples here, which were the best place for tourists to visit and enjoy, especially during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
[Love] A pagoda was built on the top of the mountain in the Ming Dynasty. In the pagoda, there are three Buddhas and five Bodhisattvas including Guanyin, Manjusri, Samantabhadra, Ksitigarbha, and Maitreya. Taoist buildings include: Sanqing, Sanguan, Wenchang, Yaowang, and Thunder God. .
[Love] Yaotai Holy Land combines the three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. It can be called a religious holy place in ancient and modern times and has become an important symbol of Xia County, the ancient capital.
[Love] Yang Shouxian, a famous scholar in the late Qing Dynasty, once wrote a couplet for Yaotai. The first couplet is "The moon is bright, the moon is bright in August", and the second couplet is "Mountains and mountains are beautiful, Wushan mountains are very beautiful", so "Yao "Taiyue Night" has also become the first of the eight ancient sceneries in Xia County.
[Love] Yaotai Mountain not only has a long history, but its natural shape is also particularly special. The sudden figure is almost a very regular cone. Although the altitude is six or seven hundred meters, it is not too high. However, the relative height of the cone can reach up to a thousand meters. Compared with the mountains behind it, it is tall, aloof, and sacred. extraordinary.
[Love] If you have enough time, there are Duiyun Cave nearby (the previous article has a travel guide about Duiyun Cave), Sima Wen Gong Temple and other attractions, which can be visited in one day.
Duiyundong, Xia County, Yuncheng, Shanxi | A tribute to the revolutionary martyrs, also known as the "Little Potala Palace".
🏆Introduction: Duiyundong is located on the Niu Village Tuogang on Jiwang Mountain, 25 kilometers west of Xia County. The gullies on both sides are nearly 100 meters deep. The two streams of Shehu and Shijian surround it, and the stream flows eastward into the Sushui River. After the rain, the clouds on the gang are lingering, the fog is long, and the cave door is cloud-sealed, hence the name "Duiyundong". Because its appearance is similar to the Potala Palace in Tibet, Duiyundong is also called the "Little Potala Palace". In 1928, the Hedong Special Committee of the Communist Party of China was established here and secretly operated for ten years, so this place can be called the cradle of the revolution in southern Shanxi.
✔️This famous Taoist view was founded in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, and it has a history of more than 700 years.
✔️In the first year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, the Quanzhen Sect of Taoism took over and continued to expand and expand. At that time, there were many Taoist priests in the view, which was called "Heguangdong" and "Chaoyangdong".
✔️The period from Qianlong to Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty was its heyday, and it formed its current scale in the third year of Xianfeng.
✔️The entire Duiyundong has nine courtyards, and the large and small courtyards are stacked up in sequence,
✔️Walking up from the gate of Duiyundong, you have to pass through a door hole, and then enter a courtyard, which can be described as "building a house on the house, looking for a courtyard in the courtyard, and hiding a hole in the hole". Duiyundong was built from top to bottom, that is, it started from the "Ninth Courtyard" at the top and gradually built down, gradually forming today's scale.
✔️In 1928, the Hedong Special Committee of the Communist Party of China was established here,
Leading the people of southern Shanxi to carry out arduous revolutionary struggles,
It is known as the "cradle of the revolution in southern Shanxi",
✔️Now it has become a patriotic education base in Yuncheng City and a red tourist resort.
✔️Tickets: Adult tickets are 30 yuan, and Yuncheng Tourism Annual Card is free
✔️Parking: Free parking
✔️Play time: 1-2 hours
The halo of the past, the thoughts of the present, from ancient times to the present, only the sunflower leans towards the sun.
📍Attraction address:
Emei Ridge, Shuitou Town, Xia County, Shanxi Province
You can go and see it on the way from Yuncheng to Jincheng. It is worth going and it is quite convenient.
🚗Attraction transportation:
Self-driving from the highway to Xia County is not far away.
👍️Features:
The peaks and ridges in front of the tomb are circled; the water behind the ancestral hall is surrounded. I think the biggest feature here is the excellent feng shui. There is also a modern square in front of the ancestral hall, with a tall bronze statue of Sima Guang in the middle, and bronze statues of Sima Guang smashing the tank and Sima Guang's calligraphy on the left and right sides. There is also a Chinese classroom in the ancestral hall, which opens at specific times, so it is very suitable for bringing children to receive literary and historical education.
🎟️Ticket related:
You can buy Yuncheng annual tickets, including this attraction.
Buy it separately seems to be forty.
💗Other tips:
The main hall has beautiful statues, the Bodhisattva is as gentle as jade, and the colored paintings flow with historical marks.
Wukong Takes You to Shanxi (Xi County Duiyun Cave)
Duiyun Cave - Shanxi's Little Potala Palace
(1) Ticket: Adult ticket 30 yuan, free with Yuncheng Tourism Annual Card
(2) Parking: Free parking
(3) Tour time: 1-2 hours
Attraction Introduction:
In Xi County, Yuncheng, Shanxi, there is an ancient building located on the Tugang of Niucun, Jiwang Mountain, 25 kilometers west of Xi County. After the rain, clouds gather around the hill, mist lingers, and the cave entrance is shrouded in clouds, hence the name "Duiyun Cave". Because its appearance resembles the Potala Palace in Tibet, Duiyun Cave is also known as Shanxi's "Little Potala Palace".
This famous Taoist temple was first built in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, with a history of over 700 years. In the first year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty, the Longmen sect of the Quanzhen School of Taoism took over and continued to expand and build. The temple housed many Taoist priests and was called "Heguang Cave" and "Chaoyang Cave". Its peak period was during the Qianlong to Daoguang years of the Qing Dynasty, and it reached its current scale in the third year of the Xianfeng reign.
The entire Duiyun Cave has nine courtyards, with large and small courtyards stacked upwards. From the main entrance of Duiyun Cave, you have to pass through one gate after another and then enter the first courtyard. It can be described as "building on top of buildings, searching for courtyards within courtyards, hiding caves within caves".
Duiyun Cave was built from top to bottom, starting from the "Ninth Courtyard" at the top and gradually building downwards, forming the current scale.
The precious Qing Dynasty stone carving "Panoramic View of Duiyun Cave" in Duiyun Cave realistically depicts the cave's scenery during its prosperous period. Admiring its scenery, Qing people praised the eight scenes of Duiyun: Double Streams Converge, Stone Cave Hides Clouds, Road Twists and Turns, Courtyard Overlooks Tall Trees, East Tower Morning Rain, West Hall Evening Breeze, Pen Peak Retains Moon, High Platform Stands Alone.
A poem says: "Winding and spiraling, step by step ascending, clouds at your feet will soar. Looking back at the path taken, already twelve levels away from the jade tower."
The courtyards of Duiyun Cave are layered and constructed in an orderly manner, embodying the essence of ancient architectural styles and the charm of both northern and southern architecture. Coupled with the surrounding loess hills and lush forests, it resembles a fairyland and has long been known as a "Taoist fairyland" and a "worldly scenic spot". Industry insiders praise it as a "condensed fairyland, enlarged bonsai".
In 1928, the Hedong Special Committee of the Communist Party of China was established here, leading the people of southern Shanxi in a hard and arduous revolutionary struggle. It is known as the "cradle of the southern Shanxi revolution" and has now become a base for patriotic education and a red tourism destination in Yuncheng.
The Shengmu Temple in Xia County is a rare ancient building that blends elements from the Yuan and Ming dynasties
The main hall of the Shengmu Temple is three bays wide and four trusses deep, with a single-eave hipped roof. The central columns are octagonal with rolled-up column heads, and the dougong (bracket sets) are of a four-outspread-layer single-lower-protruding style, with grasshopper-shaped rafter tails. The central bay features an additional set of intercolumnar dougong at a 45° angle, while the side bays lack this feature. The rear of the front eave columns supports an oblique arch that carries the hanging lotus columns. Between the four trusses and the flat beams, camel hump supports are installed, with ridge gourd columns and double-forked hands on top of the flat beams. The roof uses hexagonal rafters, and the rear part of the four trusses inside the hall is supported by standing columns. The rear wall retains traces of clay sculpture niches, and the two gable walls inside preserve suspended sculptures of aerial pavilions. The front eave arch wall is painted with dragon patterns on the front and figures in landscapes on the back.
The Xiangting, also known as the offering hall, consists of a one-bay hipped roof annex in the front and a three-bay, five-truss deep single-eave hipped roof main pavilion in the back, which is a Ming dynasty structure. The dougong of the pavilion is divided into five types according to function and location: the main pavilion eave dougong, the annex eave dougong, the intercolumnar dougong, the caisson dougong, and the inverted dougong on top of the central hanging lotus column. The external eave dougong is a three-step single-protruding style, and the caisson dougong is composed of the dougong arranged in an octagonal pattern on the five beams above and the dougong at the column head of the central hanging lotus column. The main pavilion's framework consists of five sets of four trusses, while the annex has a hipped roof structure with mountain flowers facing forward. The roof of the offering hall is covered with tube tiles, with green glazed hook heads, drip edges; glazed ridge beasts, wind boards, and elephant eyes. The ridge finial is made up of three layers of imitation wooden pavilions. The main pattern of the annex's central ridge tube is composed of peonies, auspicious phoenixes, and children, while the remaining ridge beasts are consistent with the main pavilion.
Enchanting Charlotte~Foster92 The Tomb of Sima Guang in Xia County, Yuncheng, Shanxi (Northern Song Dynasty) - 'Zizhi Tongjian'
The tomb of Sima Guang is located 15 kilometers north of Xia County, Yuncheng, Shanxi, on Mingtiao Ridge. Sima Guang (1019-1086), styled Junshi, was a native of Sushui Township in Xia County, and was known as Master Sushui. He was a famous chancellor during the reign of Emperor Zhezong of the Song Dynasty, posthumously honored as Duke Wen of the State. He was a jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) during the Baoyuan era. From a young age, he was exceptionally intelligent, and his act of breaking a vat to save a child became a household tale. He served under four emperors: Renzong, Yingzong, Shenzong, and Zhezong, and authored works such as 'Zizhi Tongjian' and 'Sushui Jiwen'. In 1988, his tomb was listed as a third batch national key cultural relic protection unit.
The cemetery covers an area of nearly 30,000 square meters. It is situated about 13 kilometers northwest of the county town on Mingtiao Ridge, facing southeast with the back to the northwest, and consists of five main parts: the tomb area, the Loyalty and Pure Virtue Stele Pavilion, the Temple of Duke Wen, the Yuqing Zen Monastery, and the Sushui Academy.
The tomb area currently has thirteen orderly arranged burial mounds of Sima Guang and his father and brothers. To the east of the tomb area is the Temple of Duke Wen, with a main hall of five bays. The hall originally contained statues of Sima Guang and his ancestors up to the fourth generation, which no longer exist.
In the third year of Yuanyou, Emperor Zhezong of Song, Zhao Xu, in order to commend Sima Guang's great integrity and meritorious service, ordered the Hanlin academician Su Shi to write the stele inscription, and personally inscribed the six characters 'Loyalty and Pure Virtue Stele'. The inscription detailed Sima Guang's family background and life. In the first year of Shaosheng (1094), the imperial censor Zhou Zhi first argued that 'Duke Wen slandered the former emperor. His laws should be completely abolished, and he should be punished for his crimes,' leading Emperor Zhezong to order the original stele to be toppled. The stele was later buried in the ground and then unearthed under an apricot tree, hence named the Apricot Flower Stele, but unfortunately, it has been eroded and is difficult to discern. In the eighth year of Huangtong (1148) of the Jin Dynasty, the magistrate of Xia County, Wang Tingzhi, re-engraved the original inscription and embedded it in the wall. The monk Yuanzhen financed the construction of a stele pavilion to protect it, which remains intact to this day.
In the third year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial censor Zhu Shichang re-engraved Su Shi's text on the stele, placed it on the old tortoise base, and topped it with the old plaque. The 'Loyalty and Pure Virtue Stele' that now stands in front of Sima Guang's tomb is exceptionally tall and is considered the number one stele in Shanxi. Additionally, the tomb area still preserves more than thirty steles from the Song Dynasty to the Republic of China, such as the Sima Xuan Divine Fish Stele, the Sima Chi Lament Inscription Stele written by Ma Duanlin, the Sima Yi Tomb Stele with text by Wang Anshi and calligraphy by Lei Jianfu, and the Maxims Stele written by Wu Qing'e.
To the east is the tomb-guarding temple, and further east is the Yuqing Zen Monastery, built by imperial decree in the first year of Yuanfeng of the Northern Song Dynasty (1078), with the decree inscribed on stone still in the monastery. Inside the monastery, there is a large Buddha hall from the Song Dynasty, the only surviving official-style ancient building from the Northern Song Dynasty in the province. Inside the hall are three beautifully sculpted large Buddha statues, representing the sculpture style of the Song Dynasty. Behind the main hall, the Great Buddha Hall of Yuqing Monastery is well preserved.
Sima Wen Gong Temple in Xia County, Shanxi Province
Sima Wen Gong Temple in Yuncheng, Shanxi Province
Sima Wen Gong Temple is located on Mingtiao Gang in Xia County, Yuncheng, facing southeast from the northwest. It is composed of five parts: the tomb area, the stele building, the Wen Gong Temple, the Yuqing Zen Temple, and the Sui Shu Academy. Among them, the stele building and the Yuqing Zen Temple are the highlights. The stele building is a relic of the Qing Dynasty, mainly storing the 'Stele of Loyalty and Pure Virtue'.
The Wen Gong Temple was established in the Song Dynasty and has been repaired in every dynasty. The existing one is in the style of the Qing Dynasty.
The bearded Song and Jin colored sculptures in the Yuqing Zen Temple: Xianghuo Temple, also known as 'Yuqing Temple', was built by imperial decree in the first year of Yuanfeng in the Northern Song Dynasty (1078 AD). The Zen Temple is the incense temple of Sima Guang's ancestral tomb, which is a Zen hall, that is, a Buddhist temple. The plaque on the main hall reads 'There is another world', which is different from the 'Daxiong Treasure Hall' of general Buddhist temples. Inside the main hall, there is a golden Buddha sitting statue, and there were originally sixteen Arhats on both sides of the hall, but now there are only twelve. Unfortunately, all the heads have been stolen. The three Buddhas all have beards, which is quite rare.
Popular Trip Moments
Travel guide to Yaotai Mountain in Xia County, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province. | Duiyundong, Xia County, Yuncheng, Shanxi | A tribute to the revolutionary martyrs, also known as the "Little Potala Palace". | The halo of the past, the thoughts of the present, from ancient times to the present, only the sunflower leans towards the sun. | Wukong Takes You to Shanxi (Xi County Duiyun Cave) | The Shengmu Temple in Xia County is a rare ancient building that blends elements from the Yuan and Ming dynasties | The Tomb of Sima Guang in Xia County, Yuncheng, Shanxi (Northern Song Dynasty) - 'Zizhi Tongjian' | Sima Wen Gong Temple in Xia County, Shanxi Province Recommended Attractions at Popular Destinations
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